Static Hour
Static Hour
Directed by Theo Marsh
A night-shift radio host realizes the caller counting down on air is describing the studio she's locked inside.
Callie runs the loneliest slot on Meridian FM — 3 a.m. to dawn, just her voice and the insomniacs. Tonight a caller won't give a name, only a number, and it drops by one every time the phone rings. As the count falls, the caller narrates details only someone inside the sealed studio could know. With the exits locked and the count nearing zero, Callie has one broadcast hour to figure out whether the voice wants to warn her — or finish something.
The Cast
Callie Renn
ProtagonistA sharp, sleepless radio host who talks strangers through their worst nights — until one turns the mirror on her.
Look: 30s, oversized headphones, denim jacket over a band tee, a cold coffee going colder.
The Caller
AntagonistA calm voice that knows the building better than Callie does and counts down without ever raising the stakes in tone.
Look: Only ever a voice — measured, patient, unnervingly kind.
The Screenplay
INT. MERIDIAN FM - ON-AIR BOOTH - NIGHT
The ON AIR sign glows red. Callie leans into the mic, warm and easy. Line one blinks. She takes it.
CALLIE
You're on the air, night owl. What's keeping you up?
THE CALLER
Nineteen. There are nineteen fluorescent tubes above your head, Callie. One of them is about to flicker.
INT. MERIDIAN FM - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
Callie pushes the exit bar. Locked. Every door. Back in the booth, line one is already blinking again.
THE CALLER
Eleven. You checked the north door first. You always check the north door first.
CALLIE
How are you inside my building?
INT. MERIDIAN FM - ON-AIR BOOTH - LATER
The count reaches three. Callie's hand hovers over the emergency broadcast switch — the one button that reaches the whole sleeping city.
THE CALLER
Three. When it hits zero, you decide who else gets to be awake for this.
Discussion(1)
The countdown describing her own studio is such a tight single-location hook. Perfect short-film premise.